Discussion series on Henrico’s heritage continues Feb. 25

Citizen Staff Reports 02/23/12

The fourth installment in a community-discussion series on Henrico County’s heritage will focus on free blacks during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The Dialogues IV program, titled “The Forgotten Minority: Free Blacks in Henrico County,” will be held from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. The event is free and open to the public. A light lunch will be provided.

Lauranett Lee, curator of African-American history at the Virginia Historical Society, will moderate the program, which will feature four panelists giving scholarly presentations to encourage conversation with audience members.

Martha Katz-Hyman, an independent curator, will discuss 18th century free blacks through an interpretation of historical artifacts. Dr. William H. Anderson, Jr., a psychologist at the University of Virginia, will address the Pleasants v. Pleasants court case that brought freedom to enslaved blacks as requested in a Henrico landowner’s will. Elvatrice Belsches, an independent historian, will highlight free blacks in antebellum Virginia. Vivian Graves, a historical interpreter, will speak on Virginia Randolph and the beginning of new opportunities and challenges.

The Dialogues series is sponsored by the Henrico County Division of Recreation and Parks. For information, call 652-3411 or visit http://www.co.henrico.va.us/rec/.

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The Henrico County Community Author Showcase, a program that connects writers and readers in the community, will begin at 7 p.m. and continue on the second Monday and every Thursday of the month at various libraries. Angela Wood and Natasha Tabon will share their children’s book “The Misadventures of Tood and Taboon: Lost in the Forest” at Twin Hickory Library. For details, visit http://www.henricolibrary.org/authors.
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